d&b audiotechnik
d&b audiotechnik is a German loudspeaker and amplifier manufacturer, founded in 1981, located in Backnang, north of Stuttgart. Although d&b is an international company with subsidiaries in Europe, America and Asia their products are engineered and produced only in Germany. d&b loudspeakers are used in rental and installation markets for events, multimedia, musicals, concert halls, theatres, opera houses, broadcast and everything from the small conference rooms to the large scale stadiums.
Their claimed unique sales proposition is that they augment the volume, or hearability, of a speaker or musician, but not the quality of the sound. They supposedly achieve this flat response through digital signal processing (DSP) so that profile changes introduced by loud speakers and other audio components are compensated for and thus eliminated.
History
1981-1993
April 18, 1981 - After being founded in a garage d&b audiotechnik is registered as a business in Korb near Stuttgart by Jürgen Daubert and Rolf Belz.
1985 - The first complete product line is put on the market, F1/F2/B1.
1988 - The 1220 system acts as a reference for sound systems in the world of theatre and opera, which also mark d&b's entry into the installation market.
1989 - The company moves to Backnang. Their first office is opened abroad in Great Britain and Scandinavia.
1994-2000
1996 - The company opens its first office in Ferrara, Italy.
1997 - d&b audiotechnik begins using digital signal processing technology.
1998 - An office in United States is opened.
1999 and 2000 - Offices in Japan, France and Spain are opened, construction begins on a second factory on the same premises.
2001 and beyond
2003 - d&b launch the Q-Series. Alongside this is the D12, the first d&b amplifier to drive all their loudspeakers. Continuing the international market development, in Mexico Antonio Martinez Benita takes on the d&b mantle, Sebastian Song opens an office in Singapore and in Korea Hak Kwon Kim takes on d&b's interests.
2004 - d&b audiotechnik launches the Cardioid Subwoofer Array and ROPE C, a graphical drag and drop software that along with the d&b Remote network provides central control and monitoring of the systems. Looking to the east d&b audiotechnik China is established by Mr Freddie To.
2006 - The launch of the J-Series to infiltrate the large scale vertical array market.
2007 - The d&b Remote network experiences serious updates in the form of the R1 Remote control software
2008 - A new office building and new production halls open after a comprehensive construction process. Having started with a mere 500 sqm the d&b buildings now cover more than 6,000 sqm.